This invention relates to mail receptacles and more particularly to a mailbox having a security compartment contained therein.
Currently, rural streetside mailboxes provide no security for mail placed therein. Once mail is placed within the mailbox, thieves can steal it. The mail may include important items and even checks, such as social security checks for the elderly, and thus theft of such mail could result in serious hardship to the recipient. Due to the possibility of such thefts, residents often wait and observe the mailbox until the mail is delivered whereupon they immediately go to the mailbox to get the mail. However, if the mailbox cannot be seen from the person's residence, a resident does not know when the mail is delivered, and therefore may make several trips to the mailbox only to find that the mail has not been delivered yet. Also, rain, snow or other inclemate weather makes it difficult for the residents, again especially the elderly, to get the mail immediately. Thus it is even more frustrating for senior citizens to walk to the mailbox only to find that no mail has been delivered.
Another problem with current mailboxes is that when the resident is absent, unless mail delivery is halted for the period of the absence, mail accumulates within the mailbox. The accumulation of mail is an indication to all that the resident is absent, thereby making burglary of the residence more attractive.
Many homes have mailboxes attached to the house or a slot in the door which eliminates some of the above-mentioned security problems. However, by 1995, the Postal Service is requiring that all mailboxes be streetside. Thus, there is a need for a streetside mail receptacle that will provide security for both the mail and that will allow the residents to retrieve the mail at his or her convenience.
Another problem with current mailboxes which is addressed by this invention is the occurrence of mail delivery to a particular address after the mail has been forwarded by the resident. Often mail will continue to accumulate after a resident has moved and left a forwarding address making such mail subject to loss or theft.
Others have attempted to provide mailboxes to overcome the problem of the lack of security but none is like the present invention. The most relevant patented art includes the following: U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,551 by Baylor granted Dec. 27, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,891 by Wildish et al. granted Mar. 6, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,656 by Smith et al. granted Mar. 28, 1989; German Patent No. 1,144,644 granted Feb. 28, 1963 and French Patent No. 1,365,602 granted June 21, 1963.
The most relevant of the above patents is U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,551 which discloses a mailbox with a door in the bottom inside thereof. The door in this invention must be picked up each time the mail is delivered in order for the mail to be placed therein and fall into the hollow supporting pole. Since this door must be opened by the mailman every time the mail is delivered, this slows down the delivery of the mail and is a hassle to the mailman in general.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,891 shows another security mailbox having a slanted upper portion containing a throated section to allow the mail to fall into a lower section and be retrieved from a locked door in the bottom thereof. As presented, however the mailbox contains very little room for holding large amounts of mail in a secured fashion and is substantially different in structure and appearance from standard mailboxes in use today.
The mailbox disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,656 shows a complex mailbox which uses an elongated rod moved to various positions to lock and unlock the mailbox.
The German Patent No. 1,144,644 shows another mailbox with a trap door in the bottom thereof.
Finally, the French Patent appears to show merely a means for signaling when the mail has been delivered.
Unlike the prior patented inventions, the design of the present invention is such that the mailbox itself appears like a standard mailbox and does not obstruct or change a letter carrier's normal delivery procedure. The present invention would eliminate the theft of mail and allow residents to relax when waiting for the mail or when they are away from home and unable to collect their mail. The mail-receiving portion of the receptacle appears like a standard mailbox and is mounted on a broad base rather than a slim pole. The receiving portion has a partial bottom to hold envelopes for outgoing mail and a large opening to allow delivered mail to fall into the base where it cannot be reached through the door of the mailbox. Residents may then remove the mail at their leisure by using a key to unlock a panel in the bottom of the base. Two handles, one on the mailbox door and the other on the mailbox, and each having a matching hole therein are provided for securing the door closed after forwarding or stop orders have been given to the Postal Service.